Looking for route guidance. Spent five nights in the BWCA June 10-15, 2021, EP 23 through Mudro/Fourtown/Boot/Gun and spent four nights on Gull (1889). It was challenging to get back there (took about six hours for the four of us all in our late 30s and early 40s and in decent shape). Stayed the last night on one of the island sites on Fourtown and just slept on the rocks with no shelter so we could get an early start on getting home the next day.

I had a blast. No complaints with the route, scenery, wildlife, etc. Saw a black bear swim across the narrow part of Fourtown right after Mudro, saw two moose (mooses? Moosi? Mii?), bald eagle hung out on Gull, lots of loons, etc. Fishing sucked on Gull, but I'm not a HUGE angler so that didn't bother me too much. Some in my group were really disappointed with that.

It was also REALLY windy the whole trip so taking the canoe out to daytrip was a LOT of work and shore fishing sucked because the bobber just got blown to shore. We chose Gull partly because of site 1889, and partly because our outfitter told us Gull had great walleye fishing. A couple of the guys on the trip were REALLY experienced anglers so I was surprised we had so much trouble.

Here's where I'd love your help. I'm going with a slightly different group this year with less of a focus on fishing. We're meeting for a camping trip this weekend in Central Iowa and I'd like to have a couple options to present for next summer's trip. Two members have never been to the BWCA.

I'm looking for a scenic route with some tall waterfalls, pictographs, old mining relics, etc. We don't need ALL of those things, but the more, the better. I think we are leaning toward base camping and day tripping and it sounds like the rest of the party is leaning toward three nights in the BWCA. We don't mind portaging more than average if it gets us to a cool spot, and we'd like a spot we can get to in a day of paddling/portaging. We'd go up the night before and be on the water by 6:30.

I thought Basswood and Crooked would be a cool route with the falls and pictographs, but I'd also like to get off the beaten path a bit and know that's a pretty popular route. I'm certainly not opposed to it, so if that is our best option, that's not a big deal. I figured I'd check in here to see if anyone has any good routes that you've done keeping in mind our interests.

I'd like to go out of Ely as I enjoyed spending the night before launch in town and that restaurant on the lake on the edge of town whose name escapes me was the best burger I've ever had - perhaps owing to being in the BWCA for five nights. I also liked working with VNO, other than John's bad advice on the walleye fishing on Gull. LOL

Personally, I'd like to slay some fish, but that is at the bottom of my list as far as priorities go. We took like a pound of crawlers and leeches this last trip and hauling them around was a massive pain in the rear so I'll do a small amount of crawlers and just throw spoons the rest of the time.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes a minute to read this and/or respond!

You're likely to get several recommendations to this post. That said, I would pick up the BWCA route books by Robert Beymer to augment any advice you receive here. He provides useful info on loops out of each of each of the EPs. For trips out of Ely you will want the Western Region book. You may be able to find used editions for real cheap online (see link below) Personally, I prefer the 1991 and 2000 editions over the 2009 edition.

Used Beymer books

Enter Moose River North & go get your mind blown by the pictos on LLC. I was through that area in 2020 and I'm seriously considering coming back to them in 2021. Uh-mazing.

mirth: "Enter Moose River North & go get your mind blown by the pictos on LLC. I was through that area in 2020 and I'm seriously considering coming back to them in 2021. Uh-mazing."

I agree...other than it's not quite legal. But Curtain Falls is also nearby and would be about the only "tall" falls on the Ely side. Can't go wrong fishing Iron or that end of LLC. Agnes gets busy but if you can get past that you'll be ok. But it's another common area unless you get an isolated campsite on LLC or Iron. Nice overlook to stop paddling and hike to along the river on your way to/from the EP

As for scenic and waterfalls, most of that is in the hillier eastern BWCA...so not out of Ely. But still plenty of scenery and things all over.

Curtain Falls looks really cool. I can't figure out the fastest way to get there though. Is EP 16 the best way to go? That looks like a couple days' paddle at least to get there. If I remember correctly, isn't there an active bear or two on Agnes? Would be cool to see from afar but not the kind of adventure I want to camp near!

LostInREI: "Curtain Falls looks really cool. I can't figure out the fastest way to get there though. Is EP 16 the best way to go? That looks like a couple days' paddle at least to get there. If I remember correctly, isn't there an active bear or two on Agnes? Would be cool to see from afar but not the kind of adventure I want to camp near!"

Yes, the fastest way to Curtain Falls is via EP 16 (unless the border opens such that you can get a tow from Crane Lake to Bottle Portage). Distance wise it’s 16 miles of paddling & 600 rods of portages to Curtain from the EP 16 parking lot… so maybe a stretch for 1 day. You should be able to get to Boulder Bay on LLC in 1 day from EP 16 without much difficulty. Day tip from LLC to Curtain isn’t bad (< 2 hr), just stay on the US side except for using Bottle Potage.

Yeah 16 is the fastest way to get there from a standard EP. If you want to pony up some $$ you could get the big boat ride from Crane Lake and have it drop you on LLC if border is still closed or all the way to the LLC/Iron portage if it's open.

There are people that push HARD and get to Iron on day 1 from 16 but it's not that common. Could be 2 moderate days or one little longer and one easy morning.

That might be the best idea for us. Maybe shoot for one of the island sites on the north side of LLC and have a couple back ups. Then we can day trip over to Curtain Falls and do some fishing or exploring in other places. Anything else we should check out in that area? I'll do a forum search for LLC area, but I always appreciate advice.

LostInREI: "That might be the best idea for us. Maybe shoot for one of the island sites on the north side of LLC and have a couple back ups. Then we can day trip over to Curtain Falls and do some fishing or exploring in other places. Anything else we should check out in that area? I'll do a forum search for LLC area, but I always appreciate advice."

EP19 - Stuart River could be an option. Less traveled due to longer portages. Would be more portage and less paddle. Just a thought if you want less people. When is your trip? Time of year?

PeaceFrog: "EP19 - Stuart River could be an option. Less traveled due to longer portages. Would be more portage and less paddle. Just a thought if you want less people. When is your trip? Time of year?"

Early or mid June. My only worry with 16 is would like to get close to EP the last night to make it a bit quicker on way out, and Nina Moose and Agnes worry me a bit with the increased bear activity in that area the last couple years. I guess that's going to be a necessary evil for a night if we're going to stay in that area.

LostInREI: "

PeaceFrog: "EP19 - Stuart River could be an option. Less traveled due to longer portages. Would be more portage and less paddle. Just a thought if you want less people. When is your trip? Time of year?"

Early or mid June. My only worry with 16 is would like to get close to EP the last night to make it a bit quicker on way out, and Nina Moose and Agnes worry me a bit with the increased bear activity in that area the last couple years. I guess that's going to be a necessary evil for a night if we're going to stay in that area.


"

I'm tripping to EP16 Moose River North next early/mid June. Not letting bears sway me. I'll take whatever comes our way on my trip. All part of the adventure and experience for the future trips. Happy planning. Maybe we will cross paths next June.

LostInREI: "

PeaceFrog: "EP19 - Stuart River could be an option. Less traveled due to longer portages. Would be more portage and less paddle. Just a thought if you want less people. When is your trip? Time of year?"

Early or mid June. My only worry with 16 is would like to get close to EP the last night to make it a bit quicker on way out, and Nina Moose and Agnes worry me a bit with the increased bear activity in that area the last couple years. I guess that's going to be a necessary evil for a night if we're going to stay in that area."

You'll be alright. Keep a clean camp and it sounds like you're only spending one night in that area potentially.

cyclones30: "You'll be alright. Keep a clean camp and it sounds like you're only spending one night in that area potentially "

I suppose that's true. I'm going to take the following options to our camp tonight and see what the consensus is:

Option 1:
EP 16
Push to LLC on day 1, try to get an island site. Plenty of great sites in that area if we can't get the 2 we're shooting for. I'd like to enter on a Tuesday or Wednesday to try to hit an off peak day for travel so hopefully we'll have a couple of options and won't have to wander aimlessly searching for a spot. Would likely base camp there and check out Iron/curtain falls day 2, and putz around LLC days 3 & 4. Head to Nina Moose last day/night and out through 16. Research on here shows lots of paddling, not as much portaging but much busier route.

Option 2:
EP 19
Push to Rush Lake and camp there night 1. If we like it, we can stay there. If not, head to Iron or LLC lake 2 to find another site. Check out the falls on day 2 or 3. Head back to Rush on last night and out through 19. Lots of portaging, but way less traveled route with only 1 permit per day which is pretty cool.

If anyone has any other must-do things up in the Iron Lake/LLC area besides fish and curtain falls, definitely shoot those my way!

PS, it's a Panther state!

haha....you wish.

The picto's mentioned are AMAZING but they are on canadian soil/land. And you're floating in Canadian water to get close enough to see them. Warrior hill is right there too....getting out and running up the hill would be far more illegal than just floating and looking @ the pictos. To each their own on how you want to proceed with either of those.

If you really wanted to be legit...you could get an RABC and park permit and all that on the Canadian side but that's a TON of work for a few min of time. But if you do all that work...you might as well check out Rebecca falls near Iron too. Completely within Canada and not as big as Curtain but still very cool and lesser travelled.

EP 16 is a very popular route. Heading up to LLC/ Iron is a must see for a new timer. I would also recommend heading out EP 16, but heading the way of Oyster up to Gebe. Fantastic scenery, fishing, campsites & off the beaten path.

Check out my trip report from 2019. #16 up to LLC in one day with my 65 year old father! Click on the doohickey next to my name for trip reports.
Was a great trip and fairly easy as far as portages. Great fishing on LLC too!

And now for something completely different:

Out of Ely you could go up Moose Lake through Newfound to Splash and Ensign, then portage from Ensign to Ashigan, continuing to Gibson and Cattyman. There you can check the waterfalls off of your list with scenic Cattyman Falls. If you continue on to Jordan you will find a couple of pictograph panels on the channel in Jordan leading to Ima. Be forewarned that the pictos here are quite faded and you'll have to look hard for them but we did find them about halfway up the channel on the west side. Here is a photo of an abstract one we saw: This channel will also give you some cliff jumping options, if you can find the safe spot a bit north of the pictographs. I think this channel is a pleasant paddle in general and it has treated me well for northern pike toward the north end where a tiny waterfall comes in from Ima. Jordan has some beautiful campsites, as does Ima with many choices if you want to "push" a bit to get there. A day trip option could include Hatchet which is reached by a cool passage through a wall of rocks from Ima. Other day trips could include exploration of surrounding small lakes like Adventure, Alworth, Sedative, Snatch or Three Eagle (which also was good for northerns). While this route is not particularly secluded, IMO it offers nice scenery throughout and even a chance to run a small, and usually quite safe, rapids on your return from Ensign to Splash.

Yet another option from from Moose Lake, would be to head up through Sucker and Birch through Carp, Melon and Seed and on into Knife. While this route does not have the pictographs, there is a chance to see Isle of Pines where Dorothy Molter's cabins were located and where the fascinating "ribbon rock" can still be found. You will also be afforded a spectacular view with a hike up Thunder Point and pushing a bit further toward the eastern end of Knife's South Arm, you can take in a very scenic Eddy Falls. Again, this is not a secluded area but it's popular for a reason--it's quite pretty and there are numerous campsites to choose from. Knife's many bays and small lakes nearby give quite a number of daytrip options with several areas where the bass fishing can be quite good and even some bluegills can be found in a few back bays. If you are particularly ambitious, you could also trip to the South Arm's very east end and check out the waterfalls and "enchanted forest" along the portage to Hanson. Your return trip from that spot would also give you a unique view of Eddy Falls up in the trees on Knife's south shore. The area between Birch Lake and and Knife features a few small rapids/falls that are fun to encounter as well.

Bushman: "Check out my trip report from 2019. #16 up to LLC in one day with my 65 year old father! Click on the doohickey next to my name for trip reports.
Was a great trip and fairly easy as far as portages. Great fishing on LLC too!"

That's one of the best trip reports I've read. Much appreciated. You use descriptive language and it is definitely refreshing compared to a few others I've read on here. A couple comments/question:

I just ordered the coffee press you used. I've been looking for a good system for good fresh coffee. I've tried pour over and it's a pain, slow, and cumbersome. Instant isn't bad but I really like fresh ground, so we'll see how this works if I get it before my little camping trip this weekend within an hour of home.

Did you have phone service out there? I saw a guy using a phone at 2:45 or so in the video. This would be a huge selling point for me as I have a wife and 3 year old so being able to turn on my phone and check in and say hi and make sure everything is fine on the Homefront once or twice a day would be awesome-- even if it's only from one spot on the trip.

LostInREI: "

Bushman: "Check out my trip report from 2019. #16 up to LLC in one day with my 65 year old father! Click on the doohickey next to my name for trip reports.
Was a great trip and fairly easy as far as portages. Great fishing on LLC too!"

Thank you for your kind words. I do not recall having phone service out there. I'd have to watch the video again but it is most likely my son playing games on his phone. Some folks just can't disconnect. He'll appreciate it later on in life.
The only place I have ever had service was at the top of the hill on the mile long portage heading south out of Friday Bay. The portage leading into Gun I think.
I only realized it because for some reason my phone had come off airplane mode and I heard it beep. LOL
The other place was on Gun Lake. We had a big storm coming in and decided to head out a day early to beat it and I was able to get service to call the outfitter and see if they could adjust our lodging.


That's one of the best trip reports I've read. Much appreciated. You use descriptive language and it is definitely refreshing compared to a few others I've read on here. A couple comments/question:


I just ordered the coffee press you used. I've been looking for a good system for good fresh coffee. I've tried pour over and it's a pain, slow, and cumbersome. Instant isn't bad but I really like fresh ground, so we'll see how this works if I get it before my little camping trip this weekend within an hour of home.


Did you have phone service out there? I saw a guy using a phone at 2:45 or so in the video. This would be a huge selling point for me as I have a wife and 3 year old so being able to turn on my phone and check in and say hi and make sure everything is fine on the Homefront once or twice a day would be awesome-- even if it's only from one spot on the trip."